Thoughts on working from home
 

My wife and I both work at Los Alamos National Lab.

To understate things - it's a pretty uptight place especially regarding safety and security. When called for a random screening you better not blow more than 0.02 (don't pilots get 0.04?) and if you've so much as heard a reggae song recently or even thought about going to Colorado and you'll pop the pee test. Slip and twist your ankle in the parking lot? Prepare for reports and root cause analyses for a year.

But I understand it. We work with classified stuff and radioactive/explosive things (sometimes simultaneously!). Also, as one of the iconic places of the bomb's birth we get lots of media scrutiny over things that Lockheed Martin would just blow off.

Now like so many else we're working from home, trying to find unclassified things to do in our bathrobes. We were reminded today that we're still in the pool for random screenings, so I guess daydrinking is out. We'll still have two hours to get to the "golden retriever" (our name for the five RVs they use for the collections) or we fail.

If I trip on the dog and break my ankle - is it a workplace injury? If I feel up the missus on the way to the coffee pot - is it harassment?

is it still true that lsd doesn't show up on standard drug tests?

I'm not sure what the current analytes are - but when I hired on the rumour was that LSD and shrooms weren't on the table. Our 3D visualization suite, the "cave", would be amazing with a good dose on! https://www.energy.gov/articles/photo-week-cave-lanl
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/fi...lic/032014.jpg

I've never tested that hypothesis of course...

My wife works in the classified world and NAVAIR is allowing shared time in the various labs to and SCIFs to get work done: Schedule a time, no more that 2 folks per conference room, etc.

There are just some things that can't be done from home.

They are working through protocols and safe alternatives.

mjohnson: At least you will still have a job in a couple months ... I haven't had a drink in over a year and with a job in manufacturing, I am thinking about taking it up again! :)

It is urgent that business leaders and governments work together to allow some level of safe operation just like Seahawk describes. We should be able to run shifts with 10foot separations, no overlap, no eating on site etc. Right now it is all or nothing if your service or products are not essential, you are to remain shut down.

G

Trust me - I'm not complaining! The snow is mostly melted at our elevation and the rumoured "shelter in place" won't prohibit getting out on our trails. We're sparsely populated so distance isn't a problem.

Gonna be a lot of babies or divorces in nine months though...

When I worked in the DOE version of that world it was great. We all used one network across the country and could log on from any desk at any facility. I usually got more done on travel, before and after the meetings, than I did at home with the distractions. Glad to be out of that though, it wasn't a healthy place for me. Too isolated and grim...

She needs one of those SCIF-tents that supposedly travels with POTUS.

The classified world, as you well know, gives no points for creativity.

I went to Los Alamos with my Dad a few times. He managed the Savannah River Plant and did a lot of work with the nuke side of Los Alamos. What a cool place full of really smart and often creative people. The "often" part is not meant as a slight, btw...drones need a home:)

I'd love to know more about what is going on there.

Of our budget we're about 60% nuclear weapons-related (we're the design agency for >80% of the US stockpile), the only place in the US to make plutonium things and we build our own high performance detonators. The rest is basic science and global security/counterproliferation. Lots of hard core math, big computers and theoretical physics, too. Smart people (just ask them)...

I'm in X-ray land now. The other day I was doing in-situ CT scans of a sample of shale under harsh conditions (fracking) for one of the oil companies. We do 15-MeV (that's a lot) radiography of "big metal things" for some well known aerospace companies too - they're too cheap I guess to drop $20MM on a microtron/linear accelerator.

Well, back to work - I'm knocking the dust off of my old six-sigma memories.

I don't really understand your question.
Lots of other workers in the same situation.
What's the diff??

I'm just amused by having my house become my workplace suddenly.

No, this isn't new for many many people.

Today is my first day home from ORNL. Luckily nothing I work on is classified. BTDT and disliked every minute of it.

So far, so good for me. I was surprised how busy I was.

Working from home, which I do two days a week, sometimes three, takes a little practice.

I treat my home office like I am going to work...I get up, do my old guy workout, and then prepare to walk to work: *****t, shower shave and get dressed.

Then I go to work at my home office with the same routine in my brick and mortar joint in VA.

The key for me, perhaps not an option for you folks now, is that I always take an off site lunch if I don't have meetings out in town...I go run an errand, get veggies or a sammy at WaWa and get out of the home office.

Again, it takes a little practice...my partner and I have formed a really great relationship in person so our jokes, banter and needs translate well over the available media, which never includes video other than screen sharing.

Ick.

I try to treat the mornings the same if home or in the office. If I dont I end up in gym shorts and not showering. Not good after a few days :)

I say you test out the harassment thing ;)

i would recommend peyote for that room.


you can embrace the slob lifestyle. I've done it.

but if you want to be functional it's important to stay to a schedule. awake on time. walk dogs, breakfast, shower shave and dress like you're going out into the world even if you're not. don't get wrapped up in daytime tv or internet trolling. no drinking til after five. i've been a freelance graphic artist for twenty years. i know what i'm talking about.

or again, embrace the slob lifestyle.